The extra microSAMPLER mixes in through the audio in of the first and takes care of the limited sampling time and number of samples were you to use just a single sampler. The orbs take care of the microSAMPLER's main weakness which is the sequencer. With four orbs you can program chords and drums with ease. The Kenton Merge 4 has the perfect number of MIDI inputs and outputs to get the orbs talking to the microSAMPLERs.

No that's my setup. And don't know where you're getting cables and monitors being $2000 from; more like $500. Yamaha MSP5's and $100 of cables and done. And microSAMPLERs are a bit more than $250 each; more like $500 each when you include shipping. So it's more like $3500 total.

You're right in the orbs being costly though but you end up with awesome sequencing capabilities. Enhancing microSAMPLERs in this way is more practical to me than buying a couple of $1000 synths or drum machines would be and orbs are built to last a lifetime. I did say "super" microSAMPLER studio.

i make loops and one-shots on the ipad and sample them into microsampler. i use the microsampler's sequencer to create an array of patterns that i sample into the octatrack for some severe deconstruction. if i need weird ear candy, soundscapes or vocals, the vsynth comes to the rescue.

microsampler is frigging outstanding! soooooo underrated.

i was picturing monitors costing $950 each plus $100 for cables. i've seen a bunch of used microsamplers on ebay and beyond for around $250.

Ah, a fellow samplist after my own heart, what with the octatrack and all (although I've read they've got quite a tricky user interface). Don't tell the modular synth folks the power they're missing out on by not putting the samplers front and centre.

With regard to workflow, in my setup one microSAMPLER samples the next and both listen to the Orbs, and everything gets bounced from sequencing on the keyboard part to resampled sequences which then get arranged by the sequencers. Effects also get resampled. It forces you to commit early.

I hum or beatbox musical ideas into the mic - find me a sampler which allows you to do THAT quickly and easily???? And it's absolutely priceless what that allows you to do, keeping track of musical ideas to implement....

Yes, the microSAMPLER is very much a dark horse which has almost been completely slept on. I think it's related to people not understanding how powerful samplers are, let alone one with a built in mic preamp and resampling 21 effects as a major feature. So powerful...it's practically a workstation, get two and you effectively don't need anything else to comfortably make a track (so long as you have a sequencer handy).

There have been quite a few on eBay of late. Maybe I've been unlucky but the prices have been going up for the Buy It Nows. Maybe people are waking up to the microSAMPLER.

Don't tell the modular synth folks the power they're missing out on by not putting the samplers front and centre.

right on, bro. sampling is where it's at. it's the quickest way to not sound like everybody else. it also allows for more happy accidents.

what are you feeding the first microsampler? purely beatbox?

so you sequence the keyboard part and resample that as loops? and the orbs trigger the loops? which get resampled by the second microsampler? sounds like my workflow, except i'm using an octatrack instead of a second microsampler.

With regard to workflow, in my setup one microSAMPLER samples the next and both listen to the Orbs, and everything gets bounced from sequencing on the keyboard part to resampled sequences which then get arranged by the sequencers. Effects also get resampled. It forces you to commit early.

Quote:

I hum or beatbox musical ideas into the mic - find me a sampler which allows you to do THAT quickly and easily???? And it's absolutely priceless what that allows you to do, keeping track of musical ideas to implement....

microsampler is very quick to knock up ideas on. love it.

Quote:

Yes, the microSAMPLER is very much a dark horse which has almost been completely slept on. I think it's related to people not understanding how powerful samplers are

not only that, people don't approach things creatively. treat it right and, like you said, it's almost a workstation.

I've been hunting for a decent priced kms for years! She was really good for a few things, horrible for others, just like all my gear.... But in the years since I let mine go, I've noticed what the kms did well, nothing else did. Nothing else does. Soo slept on. Now my es2 covers most of that lost ground but I'll be damned if I don't want to see what they can do together.

We really need the service manual for this machine; Korg is now owned by another company that doesn't care about customer feedback and is just making cheap dinky DJ toy trinkets. This thing could be updated so hard with the service manual, making it the more powerful than even the Octatrack. The new Korg machines do not really allow for true live, on-the-fly, free-improvisation; the new things are designed to require presetup samples utilizing consumer grade inputs that ultimately create mundane and low quality audio. If you have the service manual for the Korg microSampler, please PM me; I'll post if/when I have it r when I have everything mapped out - I have had 3 of these machines and I'm still learning the circuitry of the first one that was busted.
Cheers!_________________Dr. Sample SP-202
Roland SP-808ex
Akai MPC500
Korg microSampler
Korg KP3+
Korg KPQ
Ableton Live 9 suite + MAX
Arduino UNO
Electribe Sampler MPS